2016 International CMV Awareness Raising Month

June 2016 will be our third CMV Awareness Month and will see the culmination of a number of projects we have been working on during the first half of the year. Please find below information on these, a round-up of activities taking place, and ways in which you can get involved.

Awareness Month Official Launch

CMV Action will be officially launching June’s Awareness Month at an awareness day – “An Introduction to CMV” – kindly hosted by Auditory Verbal UK. The day will take place on Thursday, 9th June at the CAN Mezzanine in North London and is an opportunity for families and healthcare professionals to come along and learn about congenital CMV and how it affects children. For more information and for a link through to EventBrite to book your tickets, visit www. cmvaction.org.uk/events.

The CMV Board GameDuring Awareness Month we will be taking delivery of a CMV Board Game which has been designed and developed in association with our medical advisors to bring people together to play and learn about CMV. Whether it is used to reinforce and supplement current knowledge, or assist and enhance the training and development of student midwives and other professionals, the board game is intended to be used in an interactive way to help people communicate, learn and, above all, to have fun in the process!

The board game will test the players’ knowledge of CMV, encourage discussion of the challenges of risk reduction advice and will aim to inspire positive changes in patient care.

CMV Action will have a number of copies of the game which will be available for loan to universities, colleges, schools, etc. Please contact Sharon Wood sharonwood@cmvaction.org.uk for further information.

Family Fun Day

On Sunday, 12th June, CMV Action will be holding a family fun day at Chancellors Hotel in Manchester to provide an opportunity for families affected by congenital CMV to meet and share experiences. There will be a wide range of entertainment for the children and an opportunity for the adults to catch up, in a friendly and relaxed environment. We know having a CMV child can be an isolating experience, so that’s why CMV Action will be funding this vital support event. The event is completely free to attend and it’s not too late to get your tickets – visit the CMV Action website.

CMV in Professional Publications

A number of articles, aimed at raising healthcare professional’s awareness of CMV, have been scheduled to appear in professional journals and publications in June, including a FAQs sheet in the RCM’s “Midwives” magazine. Copies of these articles will be posted on the CMVAction website as they are published, so please check for up-to-date details as the month progresses.

Launch of a Crowdfunding Campaign

We are excited to be launching a crowdfunding social media campaign to raise awareness of CMV as well as funds for us to promote better hygiene to women working in childcare settings throughout the UK. Women working with small children are at particular risk of contracting CMV and CMV Action needs to urgently fund educational resources for all UK childcare settings. We want to provide resources to educate childcare workers about the simple precautions they can take to reduce their risk of infection.

The CMV Action crowdfunding campaign will be launched at the end of June with lots of information on Twitter, Facebook and the website. We will work with childcare provider organisations to promote the necessary resources to communicate our awareness and funding campaign.

Please held us to raise money to raise awareness by looking out for the launch and sharing our message #cmveducation with all your friends, family and colleagues. We can’t do it without you!

Awareness raising packs for supporters

As in the past, we’ve put together awareness-raising packs for you to use in your local area. The packs will include: midwives poster, leaflets for pregnant women and our infographics.

What you can do to help us

There are a number of ways in which supporters around the UK can get involved -

1) Share our Crowdfunding push: Tweet or retweet about the appeal using the hashtag #cmveducation. Share via your contacts or followers on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr or Goodle+ and help us reach our target.

2) Join the global social media campaign and post your pictures and stories on facebook and twitter using the hashtags #stopcmv and #cmvawareness. We're joining forces with CMV organisations worldwide and asking supporters to raise a hand and #stopcmv

3) Order your free Awareness pack and distribute posters and leaflets during June. Why not visit your local GP practice, pharmacy, health centre or antenatal clinic or any local events you may be holding. Order your pack through the CMV Action shop - http://cmvaction.org.uk/get-involved/shop

If you have any questions please let us know. Good luck with your activities, and please remember to let us know how you’re getting on so we can share and congratulate you properly for your invaluable efforts!